Wire drawing apparatus



Dec. 8, 1931r 5 BUSEY 1,835,462 4 WIRE DRAWING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 13, 19?..8 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIIIIj 'f SOV* f DCC. 8, 1931. 5 BUSEY 1,835,462

WIRE DRAWING APPARATUS Filed Sept. l5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 8,4 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT V OFFICE HERBERT S. BUSEY, F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGN'OR T0 AMERICAN ELEO- TRICAL WORKS, 0F PHILLIPSDALE, RHODE ISLAND, .A CORPORATION 0F RHODE ISLAND WIRE DRAWING ArPARATUs Applicationled September 13, 1928. Serial No. $05,794.

This invention relates to wire-drawing apparatus, and particularly to an improved dieholder for mounting the die through which the wire is drawn, and means combined therewith for cooling, lubricating and pleaning the die during the drawing operation.

One object of the invention is to provide a die-holder for interchangeably mounting various types of dies adapted for drawing wire or the like to dii'erent sizlel. K

Another object of the inve ion is to provide means for circulatin a cooling fluid such as lubricant around the die to prevent it from overheating during the drawing process.

vide means for feeding the lubricant to the entrance or mouth of the die in such manner as to set up a rotary motion or whirling action thereof, whereby to clean the die and the wlre passing therethrough to prevent the accumulation of dirt, scale or foreign particles thereon.

Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred form of construction of ythe invention, byway of example only, as i1- lustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front sectional view of the improved die-holder and die, taken on the verticalv axis of the die and illustrating the wire as being drawn therethrough' Fig 2 is a sectional side v1ew ofthe dieholder and die taken on the vertical axis and illustrating the position of the wire in dotand-dash-llnes; J

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the die-holder, showing the-wire in transverse section; and

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the dieholder, showing it in section online 4-4 of Fig. 1, as viewed in the direction of the In the art of drawing' wire by reducing the l stock to'smaller size the drawing machine-is Anotherobject of the inventlon is to prov of different sizes in accordance with the size or diameter of the wire vto be produced. The wire-drawing machine or apparatus is not herein shown or described in detail as it may be of any usual construction provided with means for feeding the stock through the dies and coiling or reeling the finished product.

The die-holders are usually bolted or otherwise suitably attached to the side of the Inachine, and in the preferred embodiment of the invention as herein shown the holder 2 is constructed in the form of a hollow casing or box having lateral fianges 3 for receiving the bolts 4 which screw into the machine frame 5. The casing of the holder 2 may be of substantially cubicle shape provided with an hnnfr chamber 7 for the lubricant and cooling Disposed centrally o f the casing 6 adjacent the front thereof is the die-receivin recess or socket 9 for holding the die 10 whic is usually constructed in the form of a :truste-conical disk of hardened steel.

'Phe die 10 is pierced with an axial bore or orifice 11 through which the wire is drawn, the bore 11 being enlarged at its mouth or entrance l2' to several times the diameter of the stock to be operated upon and tapered inwardly toward the top to terminate 1n a contracted delivery opening 14 accuratelyl sized to the diameter of the wire to be reduced. The entrance 12 of the bore or ori ce l1 has flaring Walls which provide a bell-shaped cav,- it adapted to receive and retain an amount o? lubricant which is caused to swirl around therein with a rotary motion to flush the opening in the manner and for the as later more fully explained.

Surrounding the die-recess 9 is asemi-cylindrical boss or hub 15 which .is provided with axial bores orchambers 17and 18 disposed in'axial alinement with the die 10 at the-top and bottom thereof. The upper bore ur ose p 85- Russuran y 17 is of less diameter than the die-opening 9 whereby to form shoulders 19 against which the die 10 seats and is held under the lineal thrust of the wire stock W as it is drawn through the die. A slot or opening` 20 is provided in the closed top of the casing 6, see Fig. 5, for the passage of the reduced portion w of the wire as it draws through the die. Preferably, the sides of the slot 20 are extended at the front of the die-holder 2 by forming the hub 15 with projections or jaws 21 having opposite divergent faces which provide a reentrant tapered mouth leading into the slot 20.

The lower portion of the hub 15 is constructed in substantially the same manner with the cylindrical chamber 18, before referred to, leading into the die-socket 9. The lower portion of the chamber 18 may be cored out to'a larger diameter, as shown at 22 in Figs. 1 and 2, and opening through its front wall is an entrance slot 23 for the wire stock W. The sides of the slot 23, like those of the upper slot 20, are extended in divergently faced jaws 24 shown in Fig. 2. This form of construction provides that the-wire may first be inserted through the bore or orifice 11 in the die 10 and the 'die then placed in the recess 9 of the holder 2 with the wire guided into position by the reentrant openings to the slots 2O and 23.

The top of the casing 6 is extended upwardly in the form of a mushroom-shaped boss 25 having beveled sides joined to the top of the die-holder 2 and providing an inner sloping-walled chamber 26 surmountlng the main fluid chamber 7. Leading from the chamber 26 down into the central chamber or bore 17 are inclined ducts 27 for feeding the cooling fluid to the top of the die 10 around the delivering end of the orifice 11 where the greatest heat is generated during the drawing operation. The ducts 27 are conveniently formed by drilling radial holes through the Walls of the casing 6 at diametrically opposite points on the rim of the boss 25, the beveled face of which provides for spotting the drill. After the ducts 27 has been drilled in this manner the holes in the rim of the boss 25 are tapped to receive.

screws 28 which are inserted therein with packing-washers or gaskets 29 under their heads to seal the outer Wall of the casing against the escape of the lubricant.

The means for lubricating the die at the entrance toits bore or orice 1l constitutes an important feature of improvement and comprises a novel arrangement of feed ducts 33 having washers 34 under their heads for sealing the openings in the manner as previously explained.

Tapped through a boss 35 on one side of Athe casing 6 of the die-holder 2 is a feed-pipe 36 through which the lubricant is introduced into the main chamber 7 under pressure. rIhe pipe 36 may lead from a suitable reservoir for the lubricant which is connected to a force pump or compressor, not herein shown, for forcing the fluid into the chamber 7 and maintaining it under pressure to cause it to feed therefrom through the ducts 27 and 30 in the manner and for the purpose as later explained.

The method of operation of the complete apparatus is as follows: The end of the wire stock to be drawn is reduced to a size to allow it to be passed through the orifice 1l in the die 10, it being understood that a die of the required size is selected in accordance with the diameter of the wire to be produced. After the wire has been passed through the die 10 in the manner as above explained the die is inserted in the cavity or socket 9 with the wire entered into the slots 20 and 23 through their flaring openings. The leading end of the wire is attached to the means which draws it through the die and the machine is then ready to operate.

During the operation of the machine the pressure means are actuated to force the fluid through the feed-pipe 36 into the chamber 7 of the casing 6, a suitable lubricant such as a soapy solutionbeing used for both cooling the die and lubricating the wire orifice 11. The lubricant is thus caused to lill the chamber 7 and to flow therefrom under pressure through the two sets of ducts 27 and 30. The fluid flowing through the upper ducts 27 is directed down onto the top of the die around the delivery opening 14, accumulating in the pocket or chamber 17 where it acts to cool the die; it being understood that considerable heat is generated from friction as the stock is reduced in -size at the contracted end of the bore in the die.

The purpose of injecting the fluid at the opposite or receiving end of the die 10 is more particularly to lubricate the wire and the oritice 11, and in accordance with the present im'- provement this is accomplished in a novel and ingenious manner whereby to flush out the mouth of the bore to remove the dirt,

scale and other foreign matter which is scraped ofi' from the stock.

The lubricating Huid is forced npwardl through the inchned ducts 30 and mJected into the fiaring mouth 12 ofthe orifice 11 at a vtangent to the surface of the wire-stock W feeding therethrough; it having been explained that these ducts are directed in planes offset from the axis of the bore in the die. As the lubricant is directed into the mouth of the orifice 11 in this manner a rotary motion or whirling action of the fiuid takes place as indicated graphically by the arrows in Fig. 4. The lubricant swirls around the .wire with a rapid motion and is thrown ration of any foreign matter which might workl into the orifice and tend to abrade or rough up the surface of the wire.

It has been demonstrated that a dra machine equipped with the present im rove die-holder can be operated continuous y over long periods without requiring periodical cleaning of the dies; and furthermore and most important, the wire produced therein j is superior in the quality of its surface finish.

That is to say, the finished wire will not be roughed up, scratched on its surface or scarred, but will present a uniformly smooth finish and bright olish.` 'e-holder and lubricating My improved device therefore provides for more economical operation of the wire-drawing machine and produces a more uniform and'finished product. The device is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and proof Aagainst breakage or getting out of order.

While I have herein described and illustrated the device as embodied in a preferred form of construction it is to be understood that various modifications may be made in the form and arrangement of its parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventlon. Therefore, without limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

51. ,In a wire-drawing apparatus, the combination of a die having an orifice through .whichjthe wire feeds,.said orifice formed withha flaring mouth at its end, and ajet for injectlng fluid into the mouth of the oritice, said jet having its longitudinal axis 2disposed at an inclination to the longitudinal axis of the orifice and in a plane parallel therewithghereby said fluid is caused to enter themouth tangentially of its walls to swirl around therein in a vortex to fiush out dirt, scale or other foreign matter therefrom.

2. In a wire-drawing apparatus, the combination of a die having a tapering orifice through which the wire draws, said orifice continued in a flaring bell-shaped mouth at one end, a duct extending toward the orifice with its longitudinal axis disposed at an inclination to the longitudinal axis of the orifice and in a plane parallel therewith, whereby to direct it tangentially of the walls of the fiaring mouth, and means for forcing fluid through the duct under pressure to cause it to circulate in the mouth of the orifice with a vortex motion to flush out the entrance to the die to remove dirt, scale and other foreign matter therefrom.

3. In a wire-drawing apparatus, the combination of a die having an orifice through which the Wire draws, said orifice formed with a flaring mouth at its end of considerablygreater diameter than the wire, a dieholder having means lfor mounting the die and provided with a duct having lts longitudinal axis dis osed at an inclination to the longitudinal aXls of the die orifice and in a. plane parallel therewith, whereby to direct it tangentially of the walls of the mouth of the ori ce, and means for forcing fluid through the duct under pressure to cause it to swirl varound'in the'mouth of the 'orifice in the die to fiush dirt, scale and other foreign matter therefrom.

4. The combination of a die-holder provided with an interior closed chamber and a recessed 'seat on its side, an apertured die held in the recessed seat of the holder, said die formed with a restricted orifice continued atone end in a flaring mouth, ducts leadlllngdfrom the interior chamber ofthe dieer toward the mouth of the die withthe axis of each duct disposed at an inclination to the longitudinal axis of the die orifice and in a plane parallel therewith, whereby the ducts are dlrected tangentially of thewalls of the mouth of the die, and means for supplying fluid under ressure to the interior chamber of the dieolder to` cause it to flow through the ducts into the mouth of the die in such direction as to effect a vortex action therein toflush out particles of dirt vscale and foreign matter therefrom.

5. e' combination of a die-holder having a recessed seat on its side for receiving a die,y

a passageway extending across the seat with walled compartments at either side thereof, said holder also provided with an interio` chamber surrounding the seat for containing a cooling fluid, a die adapted to be held in the seat in the holder, said die provided with a restricted opening through which the wire draws and said opening having an outwardly flaring mouth, vducts leading from the fluid chamber vof the holder into the walled compartments in a direction inclined to and oiset at one side of the Wire drawino' through the die and debouching adjacent the mouth of the die, and means for supplyin fluid under pressure to the interior cham er to cause it to flow through the ducts and into the mouth of the die tangentially of its walls to set up a, vortex action therein to Hush partcles of dirt, scale and other foreign matter therefrom.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

HERBERT S. BUSEY. 

